Chapter 9: Demon's Rebirth

The location of the cave Motai was imprisoned in turned out to be a minor surprise to Keitaro. While the cavern was well concealed, including a long and winding trip if you actually managed to worm your way inside, it wasn't all that far from the grounds of Hinata House. In fact, if Keitaro climbed to the top of the hill above the small cave opening, Hinata House remained in relatively clear view, and keep in mind that Keitaro's eyesight wasn't all that great even with his glasses on. All that little detail succeeded in doing was strengthening Keitaro's already airtight determination.

It wasn't long before the young man came across what he was looking for. A little cleft, practically unnoticeable if you're not looking directly at it, almost completely covered by a worn and tattered slip of paper. This piece of paper containing ancient writings upon it, not un-similar to the charms most popularly used to ward off evil spirits in that timeframe, and throughout most of the centuries for that matter. Keitaro found it rather hard to believe that this little crevice, no more than a few square inches in diameter, was a secret marker for one of the most destructive forces ever unleashed upon the Earth. But then again, hanging a big neon sign above the cleft reading 'Motai was here' might've been over doing it.

With dawn having come long before, and now offering a little extra light at his back, Keitaro stood and stared at his target long enough that he now had enough light to provide full range of vision around the cave. He found it ironic that in just mere moments he was going to be releasing the very same demon he was planning on destroying.

"Well... Guess there's no point in putting this off any longer... Unless Ultra Man swoops in for backup in the next few seconds I'm pretty much on my own..."

What Keitaro didn't know was that he wasn't alone. Several pairs of unseen eyes watched over him, Keitaro oblivious to their presence. Yes, they've had their eye on him for quite some time now... And the moment of truth had finally come. Oh, and there was one other presence in that cave, ready to make it's presence known to Keitaro. His head jerked upward as he felt a small shadow block out a small portion of his light. Keitaro's eyes went wide when he saw who it was that had joined him.

"Myuh!"

"Tama! What the hell are you doing! It's dangerous, you need to get out of here!"

"Myuh," The flying terrapin squeaked, showing little concern for the danger. Sadly, though her heart was in the right place, the little reptile who intimated no one, 'cept possibly Motoko, even with her little headband sporting the red rising sun and micro-sized wooden sword held gallantly in her right flipper. "Myuh, Myuh!"

Sporting a newly developed sweat drop, Keitaro smiled affectionately towards the creature. "I appreciate you wanting to help out, but it's just too risky Tama... Once this crystal thingy blows it's going to take both Motai and myself with it, and I don't want you getting caught up in that... Say, how the heck did you find out about all this anyway!"

"... Myuh..."

"You've been ease dropping on us! Why you naughty little turtle you... Are you sure about this Tama?"

Tama pumped her sword/toothpick enthusiastically. "MYUH!"

"Well, if you're that determined I guess there's no point in trying to stop you... Just promise me when things start getting out of control that you get to safety okay?" Keitaro got a nod of the turtle's head for conformation.

"Okay then..." Keitaro drug out a long breath, before pulling the glowing Theshessko from out from within his shirt. "No sense in holding this off any longer I suppose..."

Keitaro hadn't even the time to blink when an odd sound caught his ear... The sound of the ancient seal to Motai's prison began to dissolve, drawing Keitaro and Tama's attention down to it. Keitaro looked at his crystal in confusion, which had suddenly began glowing intensely. "Wait, I haven't done anything yet... Oh crap, the seal must be breaking itself! This is it, no turning back Keitaro! God, I'm glad I wore two pairs of underwear!"

The seal completely dissolved giving way to a blinding light that forced Keitaro to cover his eyes, and gradually back away to reduce the strain on his eyes. The light progressively faded as a small hole began appearing, seemingly being cut through thin air. The incision continued to rip away and expand like wrapping paper being ripped into on Christmas morning. A thick greenish fog like substance began exiting the whole, surrounding the area directly in front of Keitaro. The boy watched transfixed as the fog spread, touching the floor of the cave, then reaching up all eighteen feet to the top. Slowly, the fog began to take physical form. First the jagged scales running up and down a serpent shaped body. Keitaro took a step back, and then another as the monster's limbs began to appear, first the legs and then a medium length set of arms highlighted by long sharp talons protruding from the side of his hands. Finally, the head came into focus, not that unlike that of a dragon, with the exception of a long set of horns protruding backwards hanging close to his skull.

Keitaro whimpered from both shock and fear as the creature mimicked a scene out of Jurassic Park, flaring its nostrils and creaking the muscles lining it's massive neck. Totally paralyzed, Keitaro could do nothing but stand in awe of the beast, no idea in the least what the creature's first move might be. If Keitaro could've guessed, he never would've chosen the response he actually received.

Motai opened his eyes, and immediately took notice of Keitaro. He studied the boy for a moment before letting out what could only be described as a laugh. With a mighty yawn, the creature began stretching it's limbs and muscles as if just waking up from a long nap. "GWAHHH! Son of a bitch, that feels good! After three centuries with no elbow room it feels good to be able to stretch my legs for a change, know what I mean?"

Keitaro's eyes widened that much more. "Uh... I guess..."

"Okay now..." Motai grunted as his muscles and joints settled. He promptly turned his attention towards Keitaro. "What's this now? Curbside service? Somebody's sure trying to kiss my ass!... Wait a minute..."

Keitaro stood motionless as Motai's nostrils came within inches of Keitaro's face and gave him a good sniff. Keitaro's hair fluttered from the exertion of air. Confirming what the demon had already suspected, Motai snarled in disgust and pulled his head back and himself back up to a vertical base. "Oh I see now... You're an Urashima aren't you? Don't take this personally kid, but you look a lot like that shit-head that imprisoned me all those years ago... I suppose it's not that big of me to hold a grudge for so long, but I'm still a little pissed off about that!"

Keitaro's only reply was a horrified grunt. Even Tama was frozen where she floated.

"Hmm... Kind of on the shrimpy size aren't ya? I usually don't eat skin and bone runts like you, but seeing as you were considerate enough to greet me... Hell, maybe you'll taste better barbecued, what do ya think!"

"Yah!..." Keitaro finally reacted, taken several steps backward, trying to hold on to his nerve.

"Relax! I don't even chew, I usually just swallow small portions whole. I promise you won't feel a thing!... Wait a second?..." Motai paused as he noticed the object dangling from Keitaro's neck. He identified the artifact immediately. "Is that the Theskessko! Hah! So, that's it! You actually came to try and destroy me didn't you! That's so cute! I almost don't have the heart to annihilate you anymore! You do realize your body will be ripped to shreds before that little flash light of yours even gives me sunburn!"

"We'll see..." Keitaro mumbled softly, regaining some measure of his senses.

"In deed..." Motai froze, and opened his mind to the scenario at hand. "Hold on a minute... If this boy is an Urashima he has to know that crystal's too powerful for a human to use without killing themselves... Unless there's something different about this boy I can't sense... But he doesn't appear to be anything special... Then again, I thought the same thing about that wizard, and the next thing I know, boom I'm trapped in limbo for 1/3 of a millennia! I can't afford to make that mistake again!"

Motai glared down at the boy and snickered confidently. "Boy you amuse me... So I'll tell you what... If you turn around and leave now, then that'll save you a few scorch marks on your butt. I don't really have time to deal with your right now anyhow... You know, places to go, towns to destroy, people to torment. You know how it is."

"That's just too bad then..." Keitaro muttered in defiance. "Because I can't allow you out of this cave alive..."

Motai snarled in agitation. "Oh, and how do you plan on stopping me?"

"I don't plan to stop you... I plan to destroy you..."

"You insolent little!" Motai opened his mouth, and a huge blue fireball emerged speeding towards Keitaro. The boy instinctively pointed the talisman at Motai, and without so much as a magic word, a brilliant blue light pulsed from within the Theskessko. The array obliterated Motai's blast on contact, before beaming straight into the monsters chest. Motai convulsed in pain on contact with the beam of light, and within seconds doubled over onto its side.

Motai wasn't the only one feeling the effects of the Theskessko's power. The backwash from the energy blast whipped into Keitaro's body, surging through him like a sudden volt of electricity. Keitaro tried desperately to hold the talisman steady, but the pain proved too great, as no more that ten seconds after the Theskessko's power had been released, Keitaro was knocked onto his back from the force of the energy backlash, dropping the talisman in the process.

Keitaro laid where he landed totally winded, gasping for breath. His body was numb all over, yet he could still feel pain ripping through him internally, as it seemed his very insides were being ripped apart. Motai wasn't fairing much better, but being much stronger than his human counter part, the monster was much quicker in shaking off the effects of the attack, now struggling back to his feet. "You little bastard! You're going to suffer for that..."

Seeing her master struggling to get to his feet, Tama committed herself to taking action. She eyed Motai as he staggered to his feet, and flew toward him. Motai, still shaking off the effects of the Theskessko's power, wasn't sure what to make of it when she saw the little turtle floating in front of his face. A brief stare down ensued, ending when Tama raised her flipper in greeting to the demon. The demon's eye cocked curiously. Tama took his hesitation as an opening and gave Motai a quick whap on the nose with her sword. Motai flinched before growling in agitation. "Why you little!"

"MYUH!" Tama fled for higher ground, flying just above a powerful fireball as it whizzed past her.

Though wobbly Keitaro had by now made it to his feet. Blocking out the numbness and raging internal pain, he located the Theskesko and looked up just in time to see Tama whack Motai seconds before fleeing for her life. The turtle quickly darted down towards Keitaro's location, taking refuge behind his back. "I believe your strategy was a little flawed there Tama..."

"Myuh..."

"Yeah I know. Not like mine's much better..."

All joking now put aside, Keitaro knew it was time to get back to work, watching as Motai slowly but steadily gathered his senses. Peering down at Keitaro menacingly, angry smoke puffed from its nostrils, the beast reading himself for his next attack. Keitaro wasn't about to wait around for him to make the first move. Despite his weakened arms avid protests, Keitaro held the crystal out in front of him, and quickly the Theskkesko unleashed it's power onto Motai.

"Damn you!" Motai screeched as the crystal's power crashed into him. Motai's body began to reel again, slowly but surely being overcome by the crystals. The only question was... Would Keitaro's body give in on him first.

And that was a very good question indeed. The second backwash from the unleashing of the talisman's power took an even greater toll on Keitaro's already ravished body. Barely holding his feet, his arms sunk slightly, nearly diverting the power beam from Motai's body, but Keitaro managed to keep it focused on the demon. Only seconds into this second attack, and Keitaro already felt his body giving away yet again.

"Can't hold out... It feels like my entire body is being ripped apart!... I'm just not strong enough! Don't think I can take much more..."

Keitaro grunted in pain, finding it difficult to breath from the sudden pressure at his chest. Tama, who had by this time flown a good distance away from the boy who was now glowing blue, watched helplessly as Keitaro's body began to give way. While his legs shook and shuttered beneath him, Tama cringed as she watched his shirtsleeve rip exposing his arm and the blood now seeping through the skin from where both muscles and blood vessels alike were being stretched and overextended. The same was happening all over his body, as the deadly energy surged through the untrained boy's unprepared body.

"No, I can't give up! I have to try at least... Even if my body rips itself apart, I have to ignore the pain and hold my concentration as long as possible! Then just maybe I might hold together long enough to destroy... Even if I don't destroy him, maybe I can at least weaken him badly enough that he won't be a threat to anyone but the bugs crawling around this cave! I have to try! I must..."

No sooner than he thinks this to himself, did he feel his body begin to give way. It wouldn't be long before he collapsed from exhausted yet again. "Hold it together Keitaro! Kami, if there are any angels watching over me, I can sure use your help right about now!"

Oddly enough, Keitaro's non-sensible request was seemingly answered. His eyes bulged as he felt the calming presence of a pair of hands slip over his own, and soon after another set of hands at his left. He shifted his eyes towards his right, to find the smiling image of a young man looking back at him. A man that had a striking resemblance to Keitaro, only without the glasses and a few years older. He then looked to his left, were his eyes took in the image a young woman, who looked nothing like him right up to her long glimmering blonde hair, a smile of her own draping across her lovely face. Both of the newcomers seemed almost surreal, transparent in an odd way. Keitaro contributed the distortion to the powerful exertion of light from the Theskesko, the images themselves probably just figments of his imagination, he assumed.

"That's not important," was the young man's reply. "Just know that we're here to help."

"Just calm yourself, and stay focused," the young woman added. "We'll try to dull the pain you're experiencing the best we can... Just remain focus, and don't give that bastard even a second to breathe."

Keitaro wasn't sure whom these people were, or what was going on, but he wasn't about to turn away their help. "Thank you both... But how can you... I mean where did you come from?..."

"Man you ask a lot of questions," the young man snickered. "And what do you mean by just both us? We're all behind you Keitaro... Every last one of us."

"What?" Keitaro couldn't see them around him, but he'd abruptly surrounded by at least a dozen more of the wispy like people, most of them in concentrated meditative positions. It took the boy several moments to put two and two together, but gradually, a clear though implausible answer came to him. "You guys... You're my ancestors aren't you? Spirits who still watch over this place... Hinata-Sou I mean?"

"Who we are isn't important," the young man said unto him, but the twinkle in his eyes and smile, among various visible family traits, told Keitaro he was right on the money. "Worry less about us, and focus your attention on that!"

The woman to Keitaro's right added. "This monstrosity has desecrated this land long enough. It's time to remove him from it once and for all!"

"Right!" Keitaro channeled his focus back at where it belonged. The beast known as Motai. With a little added whompf from beyond, the energy beam shooting out from the Theskessko grew wider, sending even more energy into Motai's beleaguered body. The force of the intensified blast overwhelmed the demon, forcing him to lose his footing and collapse with a thud to the ground. Keitaro cautiously titled the beam downward as Motai fell, miraculously never losing direct contact with its target.

"GRRAAAA! This can't be happening! His body should've been destroyed right now just like all the other's before him... How is he still alive!... What is so different about him!" Of course, Motai had no clue as to Keitaro's amazing durability. He also lacked the virtue of the ability to see the small posse Keitaro had gathered around him. The only hint available to the demon that said the boy was not alone, were some faint glitters of light in the background behind him. Motai was too fixated on the pain ripping through his body to notice even this.

Whatever those spirits were doing to help him, they were doing a hell of a job, because it was working. Keitaro now felt little pain at all, let alone to the crippling degrees he had felt just a minute or so ago. He barley noticed as his muscles began to pull and tare, nor did he notice various blood vessels do the same, causing massive internal bleeding. He felt a little prick here and there but nothing too alarming. He didn't feel a thing when a small bone in his left leg snapped in half, or the subsequent breaks of other bones in his shoulder and left hand, along with a pair of his ribs cracking. He didn't even feel the immense pain he should've felt as the tendon connecting his elbow to his arm snapped clear in half, separating his forearm from the rest of it. Yet someone he still managed to keep the Theskessko steady. In fact, he never felt more in control of himself in his life. His movements unconsciously kept in perfect rhythm with Motai's, almost as if he'd been training all his life for this very moment.

What Keitaro did finally notice, was the cave around him began to shake, the power from the Theskesko threatening to bring the entire mountain down. Despite the sheer power and will to destroy the entire world, Motai was already reaching the limit his body could take of the Theskessko's attack. Just as Keitaro's was, his body began to stretch and expand. His eyes, the weakest point of his massive frame were the first to go, as they ballooned out from their sockets eventually exploding in a grotesque climax of the over surge of energy. Keitaro, smelling blood, literally, sensed that the end was near.

"This is it!" Keitaro declared, a trace of blood leaking out from the bottom of his eyeball. If he noticed it at all, he ignored it. With rocks and debris beginning to fall around him as the quake intensified, Keitaro put everything he had into one last boost of power into the Theskessko. The ensuing blast slammed into Motai, and within seconds the entire battle culminated into one gigantic explosion, Motai, the Theskessko, and the mountain surrounding them all going up at once. Keitaro stood tall through it all up until the point the backwash of the Theskessko's explosion washed over him, enveloping him completely. Keitaro could scarcely remember and odd feeling of peace and comfort before falling to his back. Darkness soon followed, as the mountain above avalanched down on top of him.

Motoko had hoped meditation would help clear her head of the distractions denying her of a good night's sleep. As it turned out, those same distractions made meditation just as useless as sleep was elusive. As futile as it might've seemed, she resolved herself to laying back down on her futon, hoping perhaps that she might strike out on some luck and sleep would soon follow. With 4:00 am looming just around the corner, Motoko had made little progress from where she'd started.

"Damn you Urashima..." She whispered softly to herself, the image of the young manager walking out the front door of Hinata House still fresh in her mind. "What in the world are you running anyway from?... This can't merely be about Naru? Something's not right, I can sense it... Stupid fool... Whatever it is that's going on, why do you feel you must face it alone?..."

Motoko's attention diverted as she heard Su shift about in the next futon over. A small smile appeared over her lips as she watched Su's sleeping face come into view then disappear as she tossed about in her bed. "Well, at least one of us is getting a good night's sleep..."

Yes, asleep Su certainly was, but there was nothing good about it. Locked in the same nightmare she'd been experiencing for about a week straight, the nightmare she could never seem to remember in the morning, and that never seemed to finish. Never finished until tonight that was... And once it did, the climax would not only shake up Su, but the entire dorm right to its very core.

"Keitaro..."

Motoko's eyes widened as she heard Su moan out their manager's name. Su surprised her even more as she stood up from her futon, stumbling lazily towards the door.

"Su, where are you going!" Motoko demanded of her, but the girl ignored her, slid the door open and walked on out. By the time Su had left, Motoko then determined she must've been sleep walking. Motoko decided to follow her to see where she was headed, though she already had a sickening feeling she knew where Su was going.

Motoko slipped out the door stealthily, and thanked her guardian spirits that her young friend hadn't wandered far. She followed behind Su quietly, trying not to wake her, and at the same time wondering how Su managed not to wake herself, as she bumped into the wall rather forcefully several times. Motoko's suspicions to the girl's destination were further fueled as Su headed for the stairs. She watched Su descend the stairs with all the grace of well... Someone walking in her sleep. Su made it 3/4's of the way down before tripping over the second to last step, tumbling over, landing face first to the ground. Without so much as batting an eyelash, Su instantly popped back up to her feet, continuing on her way with only the momentary break in stride. Motoko sweat dropped, hesitating briefly before continuing pursuit.

By the time Motoko caught sight of Su again, she was just in time to watch Su slide open the door to one of the dorm rooms, and walk inside allowing the door to close behind. "That's Urashima's room? So she has been sneaking into his room at night? Or sleepwalking actually... But why?"

Motoko had little time to ponder this before a loud shriek emanated from the Keitaro's room. "Su! I'm coming!"

Motoko rushed inside the manger's room, her sword drawn. "Freeze Urashima! Just what do you think you're doing to... her..." Motoko hesitated before finishing that sentence, for all she saw was an empty futon all except for Su, who huddled over it in tears. "Su... You're awake now... What's wrong?"

"He's gone..." Su mumbled weakly, half her face buried into Keitaro's pillow. "Keitaro's gone!"

"I'm aware of that..." Motoko replied, hinting towards mild curiosity. She remembered her encounter with Keitaro from earlier in the evening clearly, so while Keitaro being gone didn't surprise, the fact that he was still missing at this time of night did tickle at her curiosity. "There's no need to cry Su, I'm sure he'll be back soon enough... He's probably staying the night over at Haruka-san's place as we speak."

"No! You don't understand! He's not coming back! He can't ever come back..."

"Su..." More concerned now than she was frustrated, Motoko put away her blade before kneeling down beside her younger friend. "What makes you believe Keitaro isn't coming back home Su?"

"Dunno... Just know..."

"Could this perhaps have something to do with the dreams you've been having?"

Su hesitated a moment before responding. "Probably..."

A troubled frown creased Motoko's lips. "I was worried about this... By the Gods, I hope you're not right Su, but there's something about the aurora surrounding this place tonight that makes me uneasy. Come with me Su, there's some thing's we need to look into."

Su squirmed away from Motoko's grasp as she reached to pick her up. "No! Don't wana go!"

"Su, please don't be difficult. I know you're upset, but brooding here isn't going to bring Keitaro back any faster. Come on, let's go round up the others, and see if we can't figure out what's going on around here."

This time around, Su did nothing to fight or complain as Motoko hoisted her up in her arms. She didn't so much as move, lying there like a helpless infant stranded in Motoko's arms.

Apparently sleep was a commodity in high demand around Hinata House, with an exhausted supply. Naru certainly couldn't afford any for the time being, so she stopped trying to buy gold with salt. In the beginning, she'd gone to bed angry with Keitaro, cursing him for threatening to kick her out of her home, and generally, for the asshole he'd been acting like over one little mistake she made with that smarmy redheaded guy... Or was he a blonde? Ah, who really cared, it wasn't like any of that mattered anymore. The longer Naru lie in bed, the further her anger continued to shift, and reality began to push itself into a new perspective. It was too much for Naru to take in, so she got up and took a walk both in and out around the grounds of Hinata House.

Blaming Keitaro for everything had basically become second nature to Naru, so naturally she placed all the blame for this situation squarely on his shoulders. Admittedly though, she had blamed or punished Keitaro for a few crimes in which he was only guilty of circumstance, if anything only to hide her own embarrassment and self-consciousness, or to mask her own jealously whenever one of the girls was showing interest in Keitaro or vice-versa. Either way, in her own mind he deserved most of what she gave him. As hard as she tried though, she could only go so far while pretending she didn't care whenever she saw Keitaro hurting or in pain. There was also only so long Naru could go pretending she didn't care about him before the grief and confusion from that denial begins to consume you. In regards to the latter, Naru had reached that point. Facing the threat that, that person might be taken away from you, possibly forever, helps one to reach that point. Hearing that same person tell you you've become nothing but a nuisance, and he doesn't want you around any more helps even more.

Having blamed Keitaro up to his quota for this situation, Naru finally began accessing how much of the blame should be assessed elsewhere. Naru had her faults, some she was aware of, other's she was completely in the dark about. Her indecisiveness and hair-trigger temper came to mind. She was also a little too quick to think the worst of people, and probably worried too much about what certain people thought about her. She was even a little... Well not vain you would say exactly, but instead say she was intelligent, easy on the eyes, and she knew it. She didn't rub in other people's faces however, which essentially saved her from the all out vain moniker. Keitaro, who until these past few days hardly ever had a negative thing to say about her, kindly pointed out a few of those perceived thoughts to her. Words still clearly in her head at this moment.

"This has nothing to do with my maturity, and has everything to do with you being an selfish brat who can't take no for an answer, and can't stand it whenever everything doesn't go exactly the way she wants it to! Well, here's a newsflash Naru, you can't get everything the way you want it!"

Naru had dismissed this, among some other things Keitaro had said, due to jealously and childishness. Sure those words stung coming from him, but it's not like she took anything else he said very seriously. She might never have though anything of it, if it hadn't been for things several of her other friends had spoken along the same lines. While saying completely different things, Motoko, Shinobu, and even her best friend Kitsune had all basically echoed the same points all in their own way.

"She has every right to be angry… Or is that particular emotion exclusive to only you around here?…"

"I don't care what you think right now Naru, you're opinion's gotten us into enough trouble already! Granny Hina might make Sempai leave now, and it's all your fault because you had to open your mouth again! Why do you always have to be like that!"

"Well damn it, you should be worried Naru! You don't have to be in love with the guy to be concerned if he's well or not, and accept it or not it's still probably partially your fault that he wound up this way! So you're mad at Keitaro because he's mad at you for once! Get over it! Forgive me Naru, but there's a time and a place for all this I don't give a crap about Keitaro bullshit, but now is not one of 'em! Grow up will ya!"

One person she could ignore, pass blame upon, or write what was said off as anything other than what those words actually meant. But, when just about the entire household echo's the same thing? It was true that everyone had been put through an emotional roller coaster as of late, and no one was really acting like themselves at present time. Keitaro least of all... Still, it's sometimes told that the words spoken out of anger and frustration often hold the most truth to them. Then again, there were people like Naru who used those same emotions to mask their true feelings. Simply enough, what it all came down to was Naru's unwillingness to admit she was wrong. When Keitaro had first arrived at Hinata-Sou she'd been so determined to hate his guts that it made it so much more difficult to now admit how wrong she'd been. How had she'd gotten to almost the completely opposite destination compared to where she'd wanted to be?

Naru was cutting through the kitchen while headed back to her room, when she heard the sounds of someone stirring near the sink. To her surprise, she found Shinobu standing over the sink attending do some dirty dishes that had been neglected over the course of the day. Naru nearly backed right out of the room, before thinking better of it... There were enough hard feelings floating around this once happy home as it was. No better time to start patching things up then now. Somehow managing to iron the nervousness out of her smile, Naru approached the younger girl from behind.

"Hey Shinobu, you couldn't sleep either?"

Shinobu jerked, but managed to maintain her composure despite being taken completely by surprise. "Oh Naru, you're awake?... No, I couldn't sleep, so I figured I'd get an early start on the choirs..."

"Mind if I help you?" Naru asked with a smile, now standing next to her.

Wearing a slight frown, Shinobu ducked her head, and continued at the dishes a tad more aggressively than needed. "No thank you, I can handle it..."

"Are you sure? We can get the job done a lot faster if we work togeth..."

"I said I'm fine!" Shinobu squeaked quickly, blushing again as she made a futile attempt to hide her face from Naru's fluent glare.

"Oh, I see..." Naru remarked, a hint of guilt in her smile. "You're still mad at me then?"

Shinobu froze, her hands still submerged in the dishwater, now looking the part of the guilty one. "It's not that I'm mad... Oh, I'm sorry Naru! I didn't mean to yell at you this morning! When Granny Hina said that Sempai might not be manager anymore I just... I don't know what got into me I just... I understand if you hate me now but..."

"Don't be ridiculous, how could I possibly hate you? Besides, I deserved it, because you were right... I can be a real bitch when I want to be can't I?"

Shinobu looked up at the older girl in dismay. "No, don't say that Naru-sempai! You're not like that you're just... You're just..."

"Temperamental, indecisive, judgmental, selfish... Keitaro might be a hopeless, perverted, loser, but at least his faults can almost look cute if kept in small doses... Can't really say the same about putting your fist into somebody's face now can you?"

"Oh Naru... Why do you hate Sempai so much?"

Naru winced at this. "It's not that I hate him Shinobu... No actually, that's the exact problem Shinobu-chan. I don't hate him. I tried so hard not to, and yet somehow I wound up growing kind of fond of that brainless waste of space."

"If you don't hate him, then why do you keep saying all these things about him? If you really care about somehow then how do you justify putting him down all the time?"

"I can't... That's just me being stupid and selfish again Shinobu... I suppose I was just embarrassed to let people know that I was actually starting to like that perverted loser... That's all a part of my stubbornness I suppose, where I absolutely refuse to admit I was wrong about him." Naru offered the younger girl a warm smile. "Don't get me wrong now Shinobu-chan. Before you start arguing with me, he is a klutz, he is a pervert, and he is a dork. To tell the truth, I don't think I'd rather have him any other way..."

"I'm so sorry for the way I spoke to you earlier!" Shinobu blurted out of the blue, tears beginning to form in he eyes. "I had no right to yell at you that way!"

"Actually, I'm glad you did. What you said actually helped me put some things into perspective. When you asked me why I had to be the way I was... I thought about it for a while, and actually came up with in an answer. I'm that way because I'm selfish, and I don't know any other way to be..."

"You're not selfish Naru?... Why would you think that?"

Naru responded firstly with a shake of her head. "No, Shinobu, I am selfish. Whenever something goes wrong, or something bad happens around this place all I can ever think about is how things will affect me. When I kissed that guy... When I put down Keitaro during our meeting... All I was thinking about was what was convenient for myself. I never considered how my actions would make Keitaro feel... Or you feel... Or Motoko, Kitsune, Mutsumi, Su... Nope, never even considered them. It was always me, me, me! No matter how I feel, I always make it a point to let everyone else know exactly how I'm feeling, especially when I'm mad... I don't blame Keitaro for wanting me gone, but I don't see why he's trying to take this out on the rest of you when I'm mostly to blame..."

"You don't think he's really going to make us leave do you?" Shinobu whimpered innocently. "He promised me he wasn't going to, but I just don't know... Everything around here's just been so crazy lately."

While she was wondering what and when exactly Shinobu had talked to Keitaro and what context, she left the matter alone for the time being. "No I don't think so Shinobu... Keitaro wouldn't do that to us... Something else is going on. I just wish I knew what."

"Do you think it's bad?"

"I won't lie to you, I'm afraid it probably is... Knowing Keitaro, to stoop to something as desperate as he did, he's most likely trying to protect us from something..."

Naru took a moment to ponder this, and wasn't lulled out of this abbreviated thought until she sensed someone else in the room lurking at her back.

"Well, good mornin'... What are you two doing up so early? Or is it up so late?" The pair of girls turned around to see the smirking image of Kitsune propped up against the wall.

"Oh, hey there Kitsune..." Naru greeted, somewhat absently. "Neither one of us were able to sleep so... What are you doing back so early? I thought Keitaro told us you'd gotten wasted and decided to spend the night at a motel?"

"Oh did he know?" Kitsune chuckled at learning Keitaro had left out the fun part as to the original intentions of using that motel room. "Yeah, I was gona stay the night, but I couldn't sleep much either. Kept gettin' this naggin' feeling that something was wrong over here, so I came back to see if anything was wrong."

"Well your intuitions well founded... A lot's happened in the few short hours you've been gone... Though I'm not so sure what's what anymore..."

"There you two are," said the suddenly appearing Motoko as she entered the kitchen, a dejected looking Su hanging off her back. She looked to her right at catching a glimpse of Kitsune out of the corner of her eye. "Ah, Kitsune, you're back as well I see. Good, I've been looking all over for you guys. We really need to talk..."

"What! He told ya'll he was evicting everyone!" Kitsune yelped with wide eyes, Naru and the others having filled her in over the happenings while she was absent. The sleepy, but determined group huddled in a circle in the living quarters. "But why would he go and do a thing like that!"

"That's what we are yet to understand..." came Motoko's simple reply.

"That doesn't make any sense..." Kitsune scratched underneath her chin thoughtfully. "When he left my motel room, he didn't show any signs that he was upset with anyone in particular, at least not to go and do somethin' that drastic ..."

Naru didn't quite get past the part concerning Keitaro being in Kitsune's motel room. "Hold on a second! What was Keitaro doing in you're motel room!"

"Well what do you think? A little booze, an oversize bed, a pair of handcuffs and some..." Kitsune decided it would best to stop there, as noted several of her dorm mates were dangerously close to popping blood vessels. "Relax you guys, I'm only kidding!"

"This is no time for your ridiculous pranks Kitsune! We have more urgent matters to attend to..." Motoko paused, and after a brief chew of her lip found herself forced to ask. "Though... Just off hand, what the hell were you and Keitaro doing alone in a motel room together!"

"Why ask, just use your imagination!" Kitsune started to laugh, but stopped, finding considerably less than half her heart into the teasing. "Guys, you can stop looking at me like that, nothing happened... Trust me, despite my best efforts nothing remotely sexual happened. Well... Cides for... That part's not important!"

"Like hell it isn't!" Naru snarled, having calmed down some but not a lot. Not enough that Kitsune could stop fearing for her well being anyway. "What exactly was 'my best efforts' supposed to mean by the way!"

Feeling somewhat irritated and withdrawn, and not in the mood to coddle other people's feelings, Kitsune's tongue made the brash decision of speaking what her mind was goading her towards. "Do I have to spell it all out for you children? What I mean is, I lured Keitaro up to my motel room and I tried to seduce him! I was all over him too, and he still turned me down okay! Apparently he's not as big of a pervert as wee all toke him for... At least not a big enough one for me anyway..."

"Well I have to admit, that's unexpected coming from him..." Motoko awed, hinting at a slight hint of newfound respect.

"I knew Sempai was better than you make him out to be..."

Kami only knew what was holding her back, yet Naru looked near ready to lunge at her friend yet remained in a semi-locked coiled position. Needless to say, she remained irritated while the other girls had been somewhat calmed. "You have to be kidding me! What were you thinking, trying to knock boots with that perv!"

"It was a spur of the moment decision! I was desperate okay!"

"Well obviously," Naru mumbled snidely.

"That's not what I mean Naru!" Kitsune snapped, with enough spite that it scared Naru enough that she backed off a bit. Kitsune's eyes opened slightly, her pupils darting slowly to the side. "Something happened earlier tonight that bothered me... I've been thinking about all this crap with Granny Hina and Keitaro gettin' removed as manager just like the rest of ya have. I sort of confronted Keitaro about it..." Kitsune's mouth froze in mid-sentence, as did the words that tried to come out of it.

"Kitsune... You okay?" Naru asked, concerned for her friend. "You gona finish what you were gona say?"

"No, it's not important..." Kitsune lied. Yes it was important, remarkably important. The problem was, that she'd promised Keitaro she wouldn't tell the girls anything he'd spoken to her in regards to him leaving Hinata-House that morning. Normally, she probably would've ripped that promise to shreds right there, without even really thinking about it. For some reason, she kept it on this occasion. Maybe it was simply the thought of Keitaro, and just how serious he could get when it came down to promises. "Just rambling... Suppose I'm trying to hard to figure all this out... What I was basically trying to say before is, I guess I just got bombarded with all the thoughts that he might leave, and who knows when I might see him again, I suppose I let my emotions get the better of me for a change... Maybe I was trying to give him a reason to stay, I don't know... Might've worked out better if it had been you instead of me Naru..."

Naru's only reply was a bright crimson blush. Everyone else made a silent unconscious pact not to say anything else on that matter. They couldn't openly think too lowly of Kitsune's actions. It wasn't like she'd done anything any one of them wouldn't have considered doing if they'd only been equipped with the necessary personality components to do so, rather than the parts God and their parents had conspired to inherited on to them.

"Anyhew..." Kitsune continued on. "The impression I've been picking up is that he'd probably be leaving this morning, and I doubt he's coming back anytime soon..."

"But Sempai is coming back isn't he?" The tear's in Shinobu's showed she already had a good idea of that questions answer.

"No, he's not..." A distant Su finally interjected herself into the conversation. "He's never coming back! You guys don't understand, he can't come back!"

"Su, you don't know that for sure." Motoko reached over towards her, only for Su to aggressively maneuver out of the way.

"Yes I do! Don't ask me how I know, I just know!

"This doesn't make any sense..." Naru complained, analyzing the facts from the past couple of days. "Keitaro spent all day hanging out with us one by one... Basically indulging himself in what we like to do..."

"Hey, you're right!" Kitsune agreed. "He had a little sparring session with Motoko this mornin', played with Su for a while, took Shinobu out for lunch, studied with Naru, and took me out to one of my favorite watering holes... He seemed kinda out of it at the time, but it looked as if he was at least tryin' to have fun. He didn't seem bitter or resentful at least..."

"Exactly..." Naru continued on from where Kitsune had left off. "And then all of the sudden, he springs that late night meeting on us, passing out verbal eviction notices..."

Motoko dourly added. "Which, as should be plainly clear by now, was a total farce to conceal from us what's actually going on."

"We should've realized that from the beginning," Shinobu whimpered.

"The only question left now is what he's been hiding..." Naru's brow creased in frustrated concentration. "Of course that question only brings about three dozen more!"

"What exactly did he say in that meeting anyhow?" Kitsune asked, still curious as to the night's proceedings prior to her return. "Ya'll told me about him threatening everyone with the evictions, but you never really explained how that all came about. What was he saying before and after the fact? Maybe there's a clue to what's going on somewhere in there?"

Naru dove deeper into her mode of concentration, sinking so deeply inside her subconscious that everyone else in the room around her disappeared into a black void of darkness until she was left alone with only herself and her thoughts. She was so far out of it, that Motoko chose to reply to Kitsune for the group, seeing as Naru had failed to do so after quite some time.

"Urashima made it difficult to piece together many of the details... Looking back, it frustrates me a great deal that I didn't pay closer attention to what he had been saying... He began with discussing some rhetorical nonsense about someone trying to force us out of Hinata House, and then turned the tables by claiming it was all a ploy to get us to leave Hinata House. It was a clever ploy for anyone, let alone Keitaro... It shames me to think that I failed to pick up on the deception sooner. I suppose that's why I failed too, this was just so unlike him, and performed his role flawlessly..."

Naru barely heard a word that had been spoken as she tried in vain to individually understand what Keitaro had been up to. Still, somehow Motoko's last few words managed to sneak past that 'do not disturb sign' long enough to mingle in with the rest of the scattered information swirling about in her head. The answer came to her with all the force of a slap to a face. "That has to be it!"

"What are you going on about?" Kitsune and the other's looked up, as Naru sprung to her feet.

"Well, I just had a thought. What if all that crap Keitaro was spitting out earlier wasn't actually crap? What if there really is someone out there trying to force us out of Hinata-House? He did say facing that person would be dangerous to him, and that he had to face it alone. Knowing Keitaro he probably tried to throw us out thinking he was protecting us or somethin'?"

"That does sound like something that fool might try," Motoko concurred.

"But why?" Kitsune asked. "Who would want to take over Hinata-House? I mean this old dump might mean something to all of us, but it doesn't mean a load of spit to anyone who doesn't live here. Why would anyone want to take over this place?"

"That's a good question..." Naru subsided with gritted teeth. "And I intend to find out the answer!"

As luck would have it, fate smile upon them again, or perhaps pissing on them would be a better description, as Haruka and Hina decided to pick that time to enter Hinata House. "You know, you can stay out there and wait if you'd like..."

"And why would I want to do that?" Haruka attempted to remain cool, but there was a clear hint of agitation in her voice.

"No reason, just an idea is all. I wouldn't blame you if you did... The carnage set to unfold isn't something I wish to witness either. Though, do try to keep your voice down. I don't want to wake the girls. We'll have to face them soon enough... And that's an encounter I have no desire to rush."

"Then what the hell are we doing here anyway? It would make a lot more sense to wait it out at the teahouse..."

"No, I have to be here to confront the girls when they do wake up. They're going to have questions that demand answers... And they deserve to know what's going on. God forbid one of them awaken early and get themselves involved somehow."

"It's a little late for that grandma!"

The older women froze, their wide eyes falling on an irate looking Naru standing directly in their path. They sheepishly peered over her shoulders, confirming what they already suspected as the rest of the Hinata harem began assembling at her back. "Oh my... You all are certainly up early... What's the occasion?"

"I could ask you the same thing, not to mention why you feel you have to sneak into your own building!" Naru remarked snidely. "But there's something more important I'm curious about right now granny. Where's Keitaro?"

"... Why, how would I know my dear? I assume he's likely still in his room asleep at this hour."

Enraged, Naru took a couple stops forward, but stopped herself short of completely lunging at the short elderly woman. "Save me the crap okay! We know something's going on! Keitaro's been acting way too weird lately, and it only got worse once you showed up! You know just as well as I do that he's not up in his room right now! Su crawled into his room and found he was missing not more than an hour ago! In fact, she's been having nightmares about him leaving for two weeks now, and on top of that Motoko confronted him at the door as he was walking out earlier tonight! Then he starts spouting off all this rhetorical crap about leaving Hinata House, and then threatens to evict all of us, from out the blue! What's going on here granny! I know that you know! You said yourself that we deserve an explanation, you owe it to us!"

The old grandmother's features struggled to form a neutral expression. It was true, she did owe them the truth, but she also needed to buy Keitaro time to get his task over with before one or more of the girls caught wind of their mission and tried to intervene. Even if this meant deception, she'd just have to lie for now until she was certain the real danger was done and over with. "Naru-chan, I really have no idea what you're babbling on about..."

Naru was poised to retort, but somebody beat her too it. A cool silky voice rung out from across the room, one familiar only to the two older women with the same last name. "Oh, but do tell them Grandmother. I'd like to know myself..."

Four stunned, and two mortified heads turned towards the origin of the voice, just in time to catch a glimpse of the owner as she walked slowly into the living room. Dressed mostly in black, her face cold and indifferent. The stunned onlookers watched as the young woman slowly approached Grandma Hina reacted as if she'd seen a ghost. From the looks of the young woman in question, some of the tenants might've assumed that's exactly what their guest was.

"Kanako dear... Back from China so soon?"

end.

Ugh, I posted this chapter begrudgingly. I'm not exactly happy with the way this chapter rounded out... But after three re-writes, enough was enough. Oh well, I tried my best. Yes, I know the scene where Keitaro's ancestors came into play was a little cheesy, but necessary. Well, only a couple more chapters to go! So what happened to Keitaro? Is he dead? I he still alive? What about Motai? How will Granny Hina weasel out of the corner she's backed into? How will the girls take it once they find out what happened to Keitaro? So many questions, and only I chapter to explain them all. Stay tuned folks, chapter 10 a cometh.